<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Tang Man @ Jul 20 2008, 07:47 PM)
<{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Malorkayel @ Jul 20 2008, 10:38 AM)
<{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Yao also had 7 turnovers. Sounds like the entire CNT sucked while playing weak opponents. Still stuck with the same bad habits.
To be honest, this is just my observation, I don't think the CNT can adapt if Yi and anyone one of their players played differently. Their system is rigid and inflexible. Kind of like telling a Jeff Van Gundy team to run breaks and play loose D, he wouldn't know how to function. The team would implode.
CNT has a slasher/playmaker guard in Chen Jianghua, yet they don't like his style. They prefer to have a control/slowdown type guard for Yao, making them easy targets for full court press.
Back to Yi, he'll make a good role player this season. He definitely have the talent to be a star, but it hasn't "clicked" for him yet. He plays robotic, similar to Yao. Doesn't adapt well once you bring him out of the comfort zone.</div>
Yao didn't play well and had a lot of TO's but that's too be expected. He's still working his way back to full fitness. The thing that worried me about Yi was the way he approach this game. He didn't want to bang down low and establish position in the post. Instead he just hung out on the perimter looking for easy shots. That is not going to get it done sorry. This time last year he was putting up double double and was firmly establishing himself to be the second star on the Chinese team after Yao. In fact even with Yao on the court he still played like he was the best plauer on the team. His game consisted of a lot of post ups back up by consistent outside shooting. That's why a lot of people like myself thought he had a lot of potential to be a star in the NBA. Right now he isn't showing any of that. In fact other guys on CNT seem to be playing with more confidence then he currently is. Yi is not showing any leadership or presence on the court. China won't win a game at the Olympics unless he turn things around. The other bad habit he is picking up is that he looks like he is satisfied with himself after making a good move or two when he should to be a lot more aggressive and attack. Maybe he just isn't motivated in these type of games but he will need to put up a strong showing at the Olympics. The Nets coaching staff may want to hired someone to help him improve his hands. They are really bad. Yao had similar problems when he first came into the NBA. His personnal trainer had him catching tennis balls in an attemp to improve his hand eye co-ordination. They may have to do the same with Yi.
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If you ever watched Dirk's training video, he also did a lot of work with tennis balls, catching and juggling.
Back to Yi, I hope it's just his personality of not playing up to bad competition. Yet, I never see him turn it on at will either. Most likely, he's still inconsistent. In addition to a personal trainer, he also need someone to keep him focuses. He's the type to get distracted, considering the controversy of him break curfew.
In the upcoming season, Yi's scoring will be erratic. His worth will depend on his rebounding.
